IBT Staff Reporter

Union workers locked out of their jobs at a Texas oil refinery for nearly 10 months voted on Monday by a nearly two-thirds margin to accept an Exxon Mobil Corp contract offer, a union official said.

Union workers locked out of their jobs at a Texas oil refinery for nearly 10 months voted on Monday to accept an Exxon Mobil Corp contract offer, ceding to a key company demand that it have the right to determine plant assignments.

The Bank of Korea will leave rates on hold on Thursday after back-to-back hikes at the previous two meetings, according to economists in a Reuters poll who said elevated inflation would lead it to resume raising borrowing costs next quarter.

The safe-haven yen hit a near three-week high and the euro and riskier currencies fell on Tuesday as Russia ordered troops into breakaway parts of eastern Ukraine and the region stood on the brink of war.

The safe-haven yen hit a near three-week high and the euro touched a one-week low in Asia trade on Tuesday as Russia ordered troops into breakaway parts of eastern Ukraine and the West vowed sanctions in response.

The euro one-month volatility level jumped on Tuesday to its highest in 15 months, as the single currency was hit by rising risk aversion amid a gas price surge and escalation of tensions in Ukraine.

The euro rose on Tuesday versus the dollar, after earlier falling to its lowest in more than a week, as traders hoped a war in Ukraine will be avoided after a Kremlin spokesperson said Moscow remained open to diplomacy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of wrecking peace efforts and ruled out making any territorial concessions in an address to the nation in the early hours of Tuesday.

At least 200 Cubans protested near Costa Rica's embassy in Havana on Monday against tighter visa requirements for Cubans passing through the Central American nation on the way to Nicaragua.

This came after President Joe Biden had already imposed limited sanctions on the two Russian-backed areas in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region that were earlier recognized as independent by Putin.

Global stocks tumbled while safe-havens rallied and oil surged on Tuesday as Europe's eastern flank stood on the brink of war after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

Global stocks tumbled while safe-havens rallied and oil surged on Tuesday as Europe's eastern flank stood on the brink of war after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

Global stocks tumbled while safe-havens rallied and oil surged on Tuesday as Europe's eastern flank stood on the brink of war after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

Stocks slumped and oil surged to its highest in seven years on Tuesday as Europe's eastern flank stood on the cusp of war after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.

Global stock markets clawed back losses on Tuesday as investors held on to hopes that Russia's deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine will be as far Moscow goes.

In an often angry 65-minute televised national address from his office, Putin railed against Ukraine as a failed state and "puppet" of the West.

Judges on Colombia's constitutional court voted on Monday to decriminalize abortion until 24 weeks of gestation, the court said in a statement, in a victory for abortion rights groups which sued to have the procedure removed from the penal code.

Judges on Colombia's constitutional court voted on Monday to decriminalize abortion until 24 weeks of gestation, the court said in a statement, in a victory for abortion rights groups which sued to have the procedure removed from the penal code.

The deployment of what Russia called a peacekeeping operation in eastern Ukraine is "nonsense" and Moscow's recognition of breakaway regions as independent is part of its pretext for war, the United States told the U.N.

Brazil's central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto said on Monday consumer prices continue to trend higher as core inflation speeds up despite aggressive monetary tightening by policymakers.

President Vladimir Putin signed decrees on Monday to recognise two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine as independent statelets, defying Western warnings that such a step would be illegal and would kill off peace negotiations.

The European Union must impose sanctions on Russia immediately after it recognised two Ukrainian breakaway regions as independent, the governments of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said after Russia's announcement.

The European Commission will unveil on Wednesday a proposal to make large companies operating in the European Union check that their suppliers from around the world do not use slave or child labour and that they respect environmental standards, a draft of the law showed.

Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group said it would hold a three-day "armed strike" beginning Wednesday to protest against President Ivan Duque's social and economic policies, a move the government called an attempt to sow fear.

Government troops in front-line trenches in Ukraine's east said on Monday heavy weapons fire from Russian-backed separatists had intensified to provoke all-out conflict amid fears of Russia seeking a pretext for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told the French and German leaders on Monday that he planned to sign a decree recognising two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent.

Kremlin top brass urge Putin to recognise Ukraine rebels

Requiring regulators to keep the financial sector globally competitive following Brexit must not bring back the damaging booms and busts of the past, a senior Bank of England official said on Monday.

Bags packed, Ukrainians at frontline brace for Russian invasion